1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic mail system, and more specifically to a broadcast system for broadcasting a response to answer a broadcast message in an electronic mail system.
2. Background of the Invention
Recently, personal computers and data terminal units have been reduced both in price and size, thereby becoming more and more popular. As a result, electronic mail systems have been increasingly used as an important communication method for industrial and social activities.
An electronic mail system connects personal computers and data terminal units in a communication network in order to transmit messages as mail. There are various electronic mail systems for exchanging messages as electronic mail through various media. For example, communication systems are used as the parent bodies for voice mail systems, facsimile mail systems, etc., while computer systems are used as the parent bodies for "pure" electronic mail systems using encoded characters such as text mail, personal computer communication systems, etc.
FIG. 1 shows the concept of a conventional electronic mail system. The basic function of the electronic mail system 140 is to deliver a message to an addressee through a personal electronic mail box. An electronic mail system does not send a message directly to a designated terminal unit. As shown in FIG. 1, a sender 110 sends a message to the electronic mail system 140 for a receiver 130 through a communication circuit 120, and the receiver 130 receives through the electronic mail system 140 the message addressed to the receiver 130.
At present, the electronic mail system provides basic services of "send", "receive", "response", "transfer", "save", and "delete". Additionally provided services are "broadcast", "acknowledge", "circulate", etc.
Among the above listed additional services, the broadcast service sends the same message to a plurality of addressees by designating a plurality of receivers. If the number of addressees is very large, then the plurality of addressees are registrated as one group having an appropriate group name, and the group name is chosen as a receiver when a message is broadcasted. Thus, the same message can be delivered to all members in the group.
In the conventional electronic mail system, further convenient services are being demanded by the increasing number of its users.
Thus, electronic mail system servers are requested to develop and provide additional functions to meet users' requests. They can increase the number of users and the frequency of uses if they successfully provide the additional functions.
The conventional electronic mail system has a disadvantage in that, when the above described broadcast service is performed, the users involved are required to perform additional operations in order to send back a response to a broadcast message, that is, an answer, comment, etc. not only to the sender of the broadcast message but also to other addressees of the broadcast message.
That is, to realize the broadcast of a response to a broadcast message, there are at present alternatives to the following methods.
1. A sender of a response sends a response to all the other broadcast addressees described in the received broadcast message, or PA1 2. On receiving a response, the sender of a broadcast message transfers the response to all the broadcast addressees other than the sender of the response.
As explained above, the broadcast of a response requires a troublesome operation of inputting the addressees of the response. Moreover, method 2 above takes time in notifying a response and causes the problem that the sender of the response can not certify the completion of the transfer.